Catering - How do I get food?

As a student at The Blue we aim to provide you with a range of healthy, delicious meals and snacks at an affordable price from 8.00am to 2.00pm every school day. 

Catering Service - When and where by Year Group

How much does it cost and how do I pay?

As a student, a personal catering account has been set up for you.  We use a Cashless Catering System where no money payment is made at the tills*.  Instead you can register your purchase at the till by use of your finger/thumb (biometric "3 points on the finger/thumb tip" recognition) or by entering your unique, individual pin number.  Your personal catering account is immediately debited with the total amount of your purchase.

How much does it cost?You or your parents/carers can top-up (credit) your catering account via SCOPAY Online payments, (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).  This needs to be done at least 15 minutes before you intend to make a purchase at the till.  You can also top-up your catering account by cash at one of the two pay stations in school located in Bailey Hall and Milton Galleries.

If you or your parents/carers do not give consent for use of your finger/thumb biometric data, you will be provided with a unique pin number.  You can enter this pin number at the till to pay for your purchase.  Keep the pin number to yourself so that others do not spend your catering money.

Our catering service aims to financially break-even, all income collected covering the cost of the service to you. 

Please make sure that you speak to your parents/carers about how much you can spend on food and drink each day.  Our Meal Deal at £3.30 is your best value option for food and drink every day.  We set a default £5.50 spend per day for all new students, which will enable you to buy a meal plus a breakfast item or snack at break.  But we understand that costs can mount up, especially if you have brothers or sisters in school with you.  Your parents/carers can choose to change your daily spend limit by emailing our Finance Office at finance@theblueschool.somerset.sch.uk.  A member of the school's finance team will make contact to verify the request.

* For those Sixth Form students with their own personal bank accounts, you can also use contactless payment using your card/phone at the Bailey Hall servery.  Your SCOPAY catering account remains open to you, but you can also pay contactless direct if you so wish.

Free School Meals

If you are entitled to a free school meal, £3.30 per day is automatically credited to your personal catering account everyday.  If you spend more than £3.30 per day, you will need to top-up with your own payment (via SCOPAY or at the cash machine). 

If you don't spend all your £3.30 allocation on a day, the balance is rolled over up to a maximum of £40.00 cumulative.   If you haven't spent your FSM balance by the end of the academic year or on leaving The Blue, your balance is reset to zero. 

Your FSM entitlement can only be spent on food and drink at our catering serveries.  Nobody knows if you are receiving FSM or not and anyway who cares if they do?  Your entitled to it, so don't worry, use your allocation and don't go hungry! 

If your parents/carers want to find out more about eligibility for free school meals please click here.

Don't go hungry!

We know that you are not going to be able to learn well and enjoy school if you are hungry.

Regardless of whether you are entitled to free school meals or not, we know that sometimes issues arise and you don't have money on your SCOPAY account nor a packed lunch to eat.  You may have got up too late for or just don't get any breakfast! 

If this occurs on a particular day speak to one of the Catering Assistants who will arrange to give you some food for that day.  Or speak to your tutor or visit the Pastoral Office.  Pastoral staff will help if you are worried about asking your parent/carer for more money.  They will also help if this is a regular event rather than a one-off issue. The important thing is that you let us know.   

If you don't have much money make sure that you do spend what you have on food items rather than just the canned drinks.  There is free drinking water in Bailey Hall, Milton Galleries and Kennion Atom.  The Catering Assistants will help you to choose the best options for you.

Allergen and Nutritional Information

We are aware that you may be one of the many students who have allergies towards certain food ingredients, which could result in making you poorly if eaten. 

One of the most common allergies for students is to nuts including peanuts, Brazil nuts or walnuts.  We do not use nuts in any of our products or food preparation at The Blue.

If we have been told about your allergy an alert will be flagged up the at the till.   But we need you to take responsibility to check the labels and avoid eating something that might give you an allergic reaction.  Let
Mrs Western or Mrs Nelmes-Warden (Bailey Servery) know if there is an update to your dietary requirements.

Catering Concerns

If you have any concerns about your food or drink please speak to the Catering Assistant at your Servery.

If your parents/carers have any concerns about your catering requirements, they can contact Mrs Western, Catering Manager, direct on 01749 836228 or via lwestern@theblueschool.somerset.sch.uk